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Imagine following a winding path through snowy woods … but instead of wearing snowshoes or cross-country skis, you’re gliding on ice skates.

That's the concept behind a new forest ice skating trail opening in the Brainerd Lakes Area, believed to be the first of its kind in Minnesota. 

The trail at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter winds through snow-covered pine trees and fields in a loop just under half a mile long. Unlike a frozen lake or smooth rink, the trail has curves, hills and occasional bumps.

“The aesthetics of it are different,” said Trevor Pumnea, the Arboretum's executive director. “You're not skating in circles.”

The idea for creating a skating trail started a couple of years ago. The Northland Arboretum already maintains 13 miles of trails for hiking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. 

In a 2023 survey, community members said they wanted more opportunities to use the trails for other activities. One suggestion was forest ice skating.

“We really had no idea what it was,” Pumnea said.

He started researching online and found a skating trail in Quebec with music, lights and a ski chalet. It seemed a bit out of reach for a nonprofit nature center like Northland Arboretum.

“I'm like, OK, there's got to be a more budget-friendly version of this,” Pumnea said.

Then he came across an ice trail in Boulder Junction, Wis., that's run mostly by volunteers. 

“It's just grass and dirt. They throw water down and get it real thick and then Zamboni it,” Pumnea said. “I was like, ‘Well, that can't be too hard.’"

It turned out to be harder than they thought. Pumnea bought a used Zamboni for $1,500. No one on the Arboretum’s small staff knew how to operate it.

“So we just sat down there tooling around with this thing until we figured out what it did, and we were able to drive it,” Pumnea said. A community member with previous Zamboni experience offered to help by training the staff.

Staff and volunteers use water tankers on a trailer to flood the trail with 500 to 750 gallons of water at a time, and repeat the process over and over. Then, they use the Zamboni to make the ice smooth.

Pumnea said it's still a work in progress.

“We don't know what we're doing. We're not professionals at this,” he said. “We’re friends, co-workers, and we have hundreds of volunteers. We're just out here figuring it out."

The trail will give people another reason to get outside and be active in the winter, which is important for physical and mental health, Pumnea said. It's open to people of all ages and abilities with any kind of skates.

And unlike other winter activities, ice skating on a trail is not reliant on the weather, Pumnea said. The Northland Arboretum depends on revenue from skiers and snowshoers, and suffers financially during winters with little or no snow.

“When we don't have cross country skiing out here and don't have the magical Arboretum winter wonderland, financially we don't do very well,” Pumnea said. “So we're like, ‘OK, we need something that's a little more predictable.’”

The skating trail also offers another winter activity in a region well known for its lakes and resorts, but with fewer recreation opportunities in the colder months, Pumnea said.

“The Brainerd Lakes area is well known in the summer. Everybody comes here. We get flooded,” he said. “In the winter, the resorts don't historically do as well, so they've been pushing us really hard for winter amenities."

Word of the ice skating trail has gotten out on social media, and it's generated a lot of interest. 

“I keep saying, ‘If we build it, they will come.’ I knew how excited people would be,” said Lacey Doboszenski, the Arboretum's marketing and membership coordinator. "I think because there's nothing else like it.”

The Twin Cities suburb of Maple Grove has a circular skating loop of refrigerated ice in an urban area. In northern Minnesota, the city of Warroad clears a skating path on the river that runs through town. But Northland Arboretum staff believe theirs will be the first skating trail through a Minnesota forest.

Arboretum members can skate for free. For non-members, the cost is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 2-14, seniors and veterans. Helmets are required.

People who come to try the trail in the first few weeks shouldn't expect perfection, Pumnea said. It’s opening several weeks ahead of schedule, due to pressure from area residents eager to test it out.

Eventually, the Arboretum staff hopes to add more amenities, including skate rentals, lights and music. For now, the trail gives people a chance to get outside and experience Minnesota winter in a whole new way.

“I hope people just come out and enjoy it,” Pumnea said.

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Kirsti Marohn

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The trail opening Sunday at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter winds through snow-covered pine trees and fields in a loop just under half a mile long. Unlike a frozen lake or smooth rink, there are curves, hills and occasional bumps.

A woman skates on an artifical skating trail

Ben Hovland | MPR News

A woman sits at a picnic table and puts on skates

Arboretum in Baxter debuts new forest skating trail: ‘If we build it, they will come’

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